Department for Transport

Exhaust Emissions

Lord Hunt of Chesterton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to establish targets in the UK to reduce carbon emissions produced by road and rail transport by 2020.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The Government has already set stretching legally binding carbon budgets, which will see a 50% economy wide reduction in emissions in 2025 compared to 1990 levels, on a path towards an 80% reduction by 2050, and is committed to ensuring the transport sector plays a full part in delivering the emissions reductions needed. In December 2011, the Government published Carbon Plan: Delivering our low carbon future, setting out in a series of five-year carbon budget periods how we will meet the UK’s legally binding carbon reduction targets. The Government will set the level of the fifth carbon budget in June this year (for the period 2028 to 2032) and will publish the next Carbon Plan shortly afterwards.

Department for Education

Special Educational Needs

Lord Addington: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the minimum amount of special educational needs teaching required to fulfil the Teacher Standards of having "a clear understanding of the needs of all pupils, including those with special educational needs".

Lord Nash: The Teachers’ Standards set a clear baseline of expectations for the professional practice and conduct of teachers and define the minimum level of practice expected of teachers in England.Head teachers and other appraisers should use their professional judgement to assess teachers to a level that is consistent with what should reasonably be expected of a teacher given their role and level of experience and the specific demands of the setting in which they are working.

Special Educational Needs

Lord Addington: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many times since 2006 government-commissioned reports have recommended that more teacher training is necessary in the field of special educational needs to satisfy the duty to meet the needs of pupils with special educational needs.

Lord Nash: All initial teacher training (ITT) courses must ensure that trainee teachers can meet the teachers’ standards at the appropriate level. This includes having a clear understanding of the needs of all pupils, including those with special educational needs (SEN). Teachers must also be able to adapt teaching to the needs of all pupils and have an understanding of the factors that can inhibit learning and how to overcome them. An independent review of ITT, carried out by Sir Andrew Carter, and published in January 2015, found that there is considerable variability in ITT course content across the system, and cites SEN among areas where there are gaps in a range of courses.In response to the Carter Review, the Government has commissioned an independent working group made up of expert representatives from the sector, including an SEN specialist, to develop a framework of core ITT content. The group is expected to report to Ministers in spring 2016. Further guidance on teacher’s standards is available on GOV.UK.

Ministry of Defence

Burma: Army

Baroness Goudie: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether any Burmese Army soldiers from Infantry Battalions 213 or 217 have received any form of training from the UK.

Earl Howe: I refer the noble Baroness to the answer given by my hon. Friend, the Minister of State for the Armed Forces (Penny Mordaunt MP), on 14 January 2016 to Question 21564, which stated that we do not provide combat training to the Burmese Army. We do however provide educational training, as well as English Language Training. We have no information to indicate that participants on these educational courses were Burmese Army soldiers from Infantry Battalions 213 or 217. 



Burma Armed Forces
(Word Document, 14.28 KB)

Unmanned Air Vehicles

Lord Campbell of Pittenweem: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they intend to acquire Zephyr high-altitude unmanned aerial vehicles, and if so, for what purpose.

Earl Howe: As part of our commitment to providing next-generation battlefield intelligence capabilities to the UK Armed Forces, the Ministry of Defence has contracted for the demonstration of two Zephyr Unmanned Aerial Vehicles. This contract will allow the UK to understand whether Zephyr can fulfil the requirement for high-altitude persistent surveillance capability as announced in the 2015 Strategic Defence and Security Review.

Affinity Flying Training Services

Lord Campbell of Pittenweem: To ask Her Majesty’s Government when the contract with Affinity Flying Services Limited to provide fixed-wing flying training will be fully operational.

Earl Howe: Full course capability for the fixed-wing flying training service will be achieved by the end of 2019.

Home Office

Vetting

Lord Wasserman: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have any plans to introduce a scheme for the registration, regulation, accreditation and vetting by the Disclosure and Barring Service of self-employed personal trainers, especially those who offer personal training services in the area of fitness coaching to children and other vulnerable persons.

Lord Bates: There are no plans to introduce a scheme of this nature.Those wishing to engage a coach to work with children or vulnerable groups may request the coach provide a criminal record check. A self-employed coach can apply for an enhanced DBS check through an agency, who will process the application and confirm that the activity is eligible to request the check. Alternatively, any individual can apply directly for a criminal conviction certificate which is available from Disclosure Scotland which contains details of unspent convictions and cautions.Where parents do not want to engage a coach without the reassurance of a DBS check, they are free to limit their selection process to people who can show them a DBS certificate. Ultimately, it is for parents to decide who is a suitable person to coach their child and to take account of the information which is available to them.

Department for Energy and Climate Change

Carbon Emissions

Lord Hunt of Chesterton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will use their membership of UN agencies to establish relevant targets for reducing carbon emissions in (1) civil aviation, (2) shipping, and (3) agriculture and forestry, by 2020 as agreed at the Paris Climate Conference in 2015.

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth: This Government is committed to tackling emissions from international aviation, international shipping and agriculture and forestry. As inherently transnational in nature, international aviation and maritime emissions are regulated by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and are outside of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Paris Agreement. The UK is working through the ICAO and IMO to develop mechanisms which deliver emissions reductions, in line with the long term goal agreed in Paris of keeping average global temperature rise well below 2 degrees. In 2016, the ICAO is set to agree a global market based measure, to offset emissions post-2020. The UK government is engaged in this process. The Government is also committed to tackling emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, and supporting the enhancement of forest carbon stocks (REDD+). The UK played a key role in the 2014 New York Declaration on Forests, which set ambitious targets for halving (by 2020) and halting (by 2030) the loss of natural forests and eliminating deforestation from the production of key agricultural commodities by 2020. The new UN Sustainable Development Goals, agreed in September 2015, also include targets to halt deforestation, sustainably manage and restore natural forests, and substantially increase afforestation and reforestation globally by 2020. At COP21 the UK endorsed a Leaders’ Statement on Forests which recognised the importance of these goals, as well as the progress on REDD+ under the UNFCCC.

Northern Ireland Office

Equality: Northern Ireland

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Dunlop on 27 January (HL5017) concerning equality and parity of esteem, whether terrorists and members of the security forces who reside outside Northern Ireland do not have parity of esteem with those who reside there.

Lord Dunlop: The Government is committed to affording due respect and parity of esteem to all the people in Northern Ireland as underpinned by the 1998 Belfast Agreement and in accordance with the obligations on the Government to promote equality and prevent discrimination across the United Kingdom.

Church Services: Republic of Ireland

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether under the human rights arrangements within the Belfast Agreement 1998, they have raised or will raise the decision by the authorities in the Republic of Ireland to ban all Church of Ireland services in the centre of Dublin on Easter Sunday, and if they have raised this matter, what was the result.

Lord Dunlop: I am informed that the authorities in the Republic of Ireland have not banned all Church of Ireland services in the centre of Dublin on Easter Sunday but that there will be restricted access to the city centre on that day due to security measures being put it place around a planned Easter Rising Commemoration parade. I understand that the Irish Government and An Garda Síochána are working closely with senior Church of Ireland representatives in order to facilitate worship at those churches in the area. This matter has not been raised under the human rights arrangements within the Belfast Agreement 1998.

British Irish Intergovernmental Conference

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty’s Government why there have been no meetings of the British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference since 26 February 2007.

Lord Dunlop: There have been no meetings of the British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference since 26 February 2007 largely because the scope of the BIIGC agenda is now much narrower, given the completion of devolution and the fact that the political situation is more stable. The Conference remains part of the architecture of the Belfast Agreement, but is no longer used as the significant forum it was in the past for interaction between the UK and Irish Governments. Interaction between the governments of the UK and Ireland takes place regularly at all levels and in many different forums. These include an annual summit between the Prime Minister and the Taoiseach, and regular meetings between the heads of UK and Irish government departments.

British Irish Intergovernmental Conference

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Dunlop on 23 February (HL6044), why the answer did not answer parts 2, 3 and 4 of the question; and whether they will now do so.

Lord Dunlop: My written answer dated 23 February 2016 (HL6044) made reference to the Joint Communiqué of the meeting of 26 February 2007, a copy of which has been placed in the Library of the House. The Joint Communiqué provides the answers to parts 2 and 3 of the Noble Lord’s original question (details of attendees and topics discussed). In relation to part 4 of the original question, as previously advised no formal actions were listed following this meeting. The focus at the time was the drive towards devolution and the Conference urged all political leaders to act with courage and determination in order to attain this.

British Irish Intergovernmental Conference

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Dunlop on 23 February (HL6044), whether they will clarify whether the Conference held in 2007 was the final meeting of the British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference or its most recent meeting.

Lord Dunlop: The British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference remains part of the architecture of the Belfast Agreement and its most recent meeting was held in 2007. There are no plans to hold a meeting of the Conference in the immediate future. Interaction between the UK Government and Irish Government takes place regularly at all levels and in many different forums. These include an annual summit between the Prime Minister and the Taoiseach, and regular meetings between the heads of UK and Irish government departments.